A methodology for intensive case-finding and monitoring of drug use in Mexican community

An intensive case-finding model of drug use is presented with respect to its advantages and limitations. Two approaches were used: (a) direct, in which the questions concerning drug use were asked openly by the field-workers, and (b) indirect, where the field-workers obtained information about drug use from general conversation with interviewees. The indirect approach was found to be very useful in contacting new drug users and in assessing the psycho-social context of drug use. This research suggests that the intensive case-finding method is suitable for a community where the majority of drug users form cohesive groups, while it was found to be less effective for the study of isolated cases.